Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Ranger's Phantom (DEMO)
by kunaguy
Summary: This is a demo of an upcoming Mystery Dungeon Fanfiction. Full release beginning with the release of PMD DX.


**Hello readers! This is part of a fanfiction that I have been working for a few months. With the announcement of PMD DX I wanted to ride that wave and this is my commitment to do so. I will release the first chapter on the same day as PMD DX. What you are reading here is probably going to be the second chapter and will be released again with it. I chose this part because it has a bit of everything. Combat, dialogue, internal dialogue, etc. There will be a few characters mentioned that you will meet in chapter 1 that you don't know in this portion.**

**Also note that this takes place well after all of the events of Red/Blue Rescue Team.**

**Well I guess that's it... Enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing Vulpix became aware of was the dust. Without even being fully conscious she could tell it was _everywhere_. She sneezed and immediately regretted it as pain lanced along her entire body. She flinched in agony and resisted the urge to sneeze again.

Vulpix stayed down, slowly gathering herself and finally opening her eyes. What she saw was a sort of earthy ramp cluttered with small stones and pieces of wood that she could only assume were once parts of her courier cart.

She glanced up the ramp but dismissed it almost immediately. It was steep and the dirt was loose. She couldn't climb out the way she came.

Vulpix gingerly picked herself up against the protests of her aching body. She could feel dozens of bruises and scratches already. Her left foreleg in particular hurt. She tested her weight on it and her leg shook under the strain.

Vulpix took a step and whined through her teeth as her leg nearly buckled under her. She held still for a moment, riding out the pain.

She took a deep breath and eased into another step. It still hurt a lot, but she wasn't paralyzed by the pain this time.

Somewhat mobile, she looked at the path ahead of her. A tunnel with strange glyphs on the sides yawned uninvitingly, quickly losing light and concealing untold hazards and dangers. Vulpix focused on the glyphs and guessed by the pattern that she had fallen into a dungeon. Vulpix looked down to activate her silver bell.

It was gone.

Vulpix stared. Some corner of her mind reasoned that surely this was an optical illusion. It would catch the light any second and the illusion would break. It didn't. She looked around desperately, limping through the pile of dust and soil but her search yielded nothing.

Her silver bell, a lifeline to the rescue teams and her protection until they arrived, was missing.

This was bad.

This was _really_ bad.

Her options were to either clear the dungeon herself or hope desperately that a friendly pokemon found her. The chances were slim.

Wait, Eevee!

Vulpix felt like she could breathe again. Her friend Eevee had seen her fall and would send someone!

Vulpix wasn't sure how long she had been unconscious but even if it was only a few minutes Eevee would have alerted someone by now. Vulpix just needed to make herself findable.

The stairs. If she could find the stairs to the next floor then she couldn't possibly miss any rescue team progressing through the dungeon.

The dungeon… Vulpix looked at the tall and wide corridor. She had been in dungeons before and she had gotten through ok because the pokemon in them were smaller than her and weaker. If the size of these tunnels were any indication, then Vulpix was the small fry in the scenario.

Vulpix took a shaky breath. She thought through what moves she knew. She would be ok.

Maybe.

* * *

To Vulpix's surprise and relief, she was able to find the stairs in the second room she entered and she hadn't encountered any pokemon. Rather than go down them she started looking for a place to hide and watch. Hostile pokemon often wandered dungeon floors patrolling for intruders to their territory. Hiding would be hard though because the four sides room had four entrances so there wasn't a way to hide from them all. She settled for a pile of boulders that hid her from three entrances.

Vulpix hid herself not a moment too soon; a pokemon walked in right as she ducked down. She held her breath at the sound of claws clicking on stones. The pokemon crossed the room from right to left from Vulpix's perspective. She saw it's back as it went to the corridor opposite where it came in. It was black and red, moving with purpose upright on its back legs. It didn't look closely at Vulpix's hiding spot and left the room.

Vulpix didn't dare breathe. Rescue teams moved in pairs at least, with few exceptions. Like Arcanine.

Trusting that the pokemon had moved on, Vulpix exhaled in relief. She must have been more scared than she thought, because a puff of flame escaped too. Vulpix all have a fire burning inside them and sometimes it comes out when they are excessively hot or emotional.

When the boulders she was hiding behind flinched at the light and heat, she knew she would be scared a bit longer.

"Graaaaaaavelerrrrrr…"

She ran.

She didn't realize until she was at the entrance to the nearest corridor that she made a mistake. Of all the four exits, she picked the one that she knew had a hostile pokemon down it.

Something huge came hurtling at her and her leg buckled as she tried to dodge, which worked somewhat as she rolled uncontrollably under the projectile that she now realized was a pokemon itself.

Vulpix slammed into the wall right of the entrance she had been going for. She looked up and saw the thing that had been thrown out of the tunnel was picking itself up. A Machoke.

More urgently, the living rocks were a bare five feet away and closing.

Vulpix tried to scramble away but she could barely stand. She looked for a way out of her situation, struggling against panic. She was too late. The pokemon was eclipsing her entirely. Vulpix looked up at it as tears breached her eyes. She saw rage, aggression, and nothing that made allowance for mercy.

'CRACK!'

Bits of gravel flew everywhere as a long set of red claws blindsided the pokemon out of the tunnel the machoke came from.

"RAHH!" The red and black pokemon from before snarled as it smashed the rocky pokemon. With a other attack. It went down hard and didn't get up.

The black and red pokemon turned from his defeated opponent and began rushing toward Vulpix, teeth and claws bared. Vulpix backpedaled, but wasn't as fast on her injured leg.

"Please, no!" Vulpix cried desperately.

The Pokemon staggered and its eyes widened. Instead of pummeling Vulpix into the floor, it broke off its attack and leaped over her, digging its claws into the ground to diffuse momentum. The pokemon regarded her as she sat there as frozen as Regeice, trembling and with tears streaming from her eyes.

"You… Don't belong here." The pokemon said slowly. It stood upright hesitantly, the edge coming off its stance. "What are you doing here?"

"H-Huh?" Vulpix squeaked.

A furious snarl behind her sent her spinning to see the angry Machoke bearing down on her. She yelped and tried to run, but her foreleg buckled under her. Vulpix's snout smashed into the ground painfully. She tried to get up again, but she couldn't even raise herself up on her leg. All she could do was turn her head and watch the Machoke come for her. It lunged, fist extended and shining with the power of a move.

"Raagh!" A form passed over her and planted itself in front of her.

_KOOOOM!_

A blast detonated in front of her, sending her sliding across the ground and jack-knifing her around something solid.

Vulpix picked herself up and realized that it was the red and black pokemon's leg that she had wrapped around.

"Raaagh!" It snarled above her, its claws glowing with power as it slashed at the Machoke, sending it staggering away.

The pokemon straddling Vulpix leaped in pursuit, ducking under a wild swing and connecting with another strike of its own. They kept fighting and Vulpix wasn't interested in waiting to see who won. She scrambled to her paws and dashed as well as she could towards an alcove that she hoped was a tunnel leading away.

It turned out that she wouldn't get the chance to find out because just as she was a few strides away a hulking pokemon stepped into the light. Vulpix skidded across the floor as she stared up into the face of the four armed monstrosity. She screamed as it smashed a crater where she had just been. She had leaped into the air on instinct and it was only dumb luck that she had avoided the attack. A dark flash passed over her as the red and black pokemon from before flew into the four-armed pile of rubble at impossible speeds.

Vulpix didn't stick around to see who won and started hightailing her way to a different exit.

Unfortunately for her, the fast one with the big red claws wasn't interested in the end of the fight either.

Vulpix heard it rush toward her and tried to duck away but the other Pokemon was faster.

The pokemon snatched her from the floor and tucked her under one arm. She screamed in terror but the other paw came around and clamped down on her muzzle. Her captor sprinted away from the other Pokemon, ducking into a passageway. She heard a loud clash as multiple pokemon reached the alcove at the same time and got in each other's way. The creature holding her chuckled softly.

'Oh no,' Vulpix realized, 'It wants me for itself!' She despaired, struggling harder.

"Woah, hey!" The pokemon complained as it lost grip on her muzzle. It tried to find her muzzle again but she found his hand first.

"YEEOW!" It yelped as her teeth clamped down on its paw. It jammed its paw down her throat to make her gag and as she choked it got its paw back around her mouth.

"Be quiet and hold still!" It snarled, rounding a corner and pinning her to the floor. She looked up at it and saw cool blue eyes narrowed dangerously at her. She felt the effect of a Move wash over her and gasped in shock. Her limbs became sluggish and her thoughts slowed to a crawl. She looked at her captor in fear and plead for mercy with her eyes. The pokemon seemed more interested in the other Pokemon though and ducked his head back around the corner. His eyes widened and he leaned over her.

"Shhh…" He whispered, placing a claw to his lips as his eyes flashed again. Vulpix couldn't make much noise anyway with his paw still restraining her muzzle, but something in his expression made her pause. The narrow face of her captor was pressed close to hers and she was able to take a closer look thanks to her dilated experience of time.

The Pokemon was significantly bigger than her but not compared to some pokemon. It was maybe six feet tall if it stretched itself.

'Himself' Vulpix corrected herself. She could see the minor features that distinguished him as male now that she looked. His body was lithe and strong like a Persian but dark and frightening like a Mighteyna. A large plume of red and black fur came from his head and reached almost the full length of his body. His face was narrow and long with red marks at the corners of his lips, shaping his face into a perpetual smile. His expression wasn't what she expected though, he stared down at her with pleading eyes and a desperate frown. She has expected rage or something short of intelligence, but what she saw was about as hostile as it was mindless. She found herself dumbstruck and confused. Still alarmed, but she was no longer sure what to be alarmed _about._

The pokemon took her stillness as submission and lowered himself over her, flattening them both between the wall and floor and blocking her view of anything but his chest and the red claws still around her nose. She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard several pokemon thunder along nearby, but none of them stopped to notice the two pokemon huddled together on the floor

Once the Pokemon had passed Vulpix slowly opened her eyes and was presented with a whitish reflective badge adorning the chest of the pokemon hovering over her. Her eyes widened and her heart soared. This Pokemon was a rescuer! Platinum rank no less, just like Arcanine! He was here to save her, not capture her! She noticed a metallic iron-y taste in her mouth and her ears pressed against her skull in embarrassment. She got the feeling that she was the first subject of rescue to ever bite her rescuer.

The pokemon over her let out a breath he'd been holding and stood slowly, nose and ears raised and alert. Vulpix whimpered through her nose to get his attention. He looked down at her, his ears still flicking at faint sounds. Vulpix looked at his badge pointedly and back at his eyes with as much apology as she could convey.

The pokemon glanced down at his badge.

"You understand now?"

Vulpix nodded.

"Will you run or make noise if I let you go?"

Vulpix nodded again, trying to be agreeable but shook her head violently when she realized that wasn't the answer she meant.

The pokemon cocked an eyebrow at her but eased his grip and stepped away to scan for any enemies.

"I-I'm sorry." Vulpix stuttered humbly. Her entire frame was still shaking violently as she got to her feet. She found that her front left paw wouldn't support any weight and she resorted to balancing on her right. She probably hurt it more running from the dungeon pokemon.

"It's okay." He whispered. "Eat this, it will help your leg." He added, reaching into a pouch at his hip and producing a yellowish berry.

Vulpix took the berry and ate it. The flavor was unlike anything she had eaten before. Sweet, bitter, and citrusy at the same time. She wasn't sure she liked the flavor, but she felt better instantly. The rescuer knelt and gently brushed the fur of her leg aside to inspect her injury. "Can you put weight on your leg?" He asked softly.

Vulpix placed her paw on the ground and tested it gingerly. She staggered a step forward. She tried to take another step but her legs buckled under her. A paw shot out and stopped her from hitting the ground. The rescuer lifted her to a sitting position and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I don't understand," Vulpix gasped. "I feel fine, but I can't walk?"

"You're scared." The pokemon pointed out. "You're shaking like a leaf."

It was true. She was petrified. Her leg ached but it wasn't the problem. She pressed her nose into her paws and whined into them.

"Hey, look at me." The pokemon said. Vulpix raised her eyes to meet his.

The pokemon leaned in close and spoke softly. "You are going to be fine. I wasn't here looking for you, but now that I've found you I am going to keep you safe. Understand?"

Vulpix nodded, her trembling calming a little. The rescuer smiled and patted her gently.

"You mean Eevee didn't send you?" Vulpix asked.

"Nobody sent me." He answered, checking the corridor again. "I got an early start today, so I must have missed her. Good thing too, whoever has your mission notice probably won't be here for a while."

"When do you think they will be here?" Vulpix asked.

The pokemon hesitated. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Do you know where you are?" he asked.

Vulpix shook her head.

"Ah." The pokemon scratched his chin. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

Vulpix was getting a bad feeling in her gut. "The bad news." She replied.

"This is the eighty-seventh floor of one of the deepest dungeons on the continent; Buried Relic."

Vulpix's stomach dropped to her paws. This was the dungeon that Arcanine had just been telling her and Eevee was so dangerous he would never consider bringing them there.

"And the good news?" She asked.

"The good news is that we're thirteen floors away from the end of the dungeon and there isn't a boss."

Thirteen floors?! There were entire dungeons that had less floors! She didn't even know what a boss was, apparently something bad, but that was still little comfort.

"Is there any other way out?" Vulpix asked. "Can't you teleport us out?"

"Mmm. More bad news. I've already accomplished as many missions as I can today, otherwise I would have sent you back already. Without your silver bell, I couldn't do it anyway." He replied, rubbing his rescuer badge absently. Vulpix knew it had power to warp pokemon out of dungeons, but only a few times a day. "I brought an escape orb, but you don't have a rescuer badge, so it won't register you. Not that that's a problem, I was planning on clearing the dungeon to collect items anyway."

He clicked his tongue and reached back into the pouch at his hip. "As long as I'm thinking of items… Here, you should take this for now." He said as he put a red and gold band over Vulpix's head. "This is a detect band, it will help you see attacks coming and avoid them."

"You mean I have to fight?" Vulpix asked, panic slipping into her voice.

"No! No. That isn't what I meant." The rescuer replied. "It's just that I can't be in more than one place at a time… Well I guess that isn't quite true… Anyway, I want you to have it just in case something happens. It pays to have layered plans this deep into a high-tier dungeon."

Vulpix sighed in relief.

"In fact, since you can't walk anyway…" The rescuer carefully lifted Vulpix up and over his head and she squeaked in surprise as he dropped her into the big red mass of fur on his head. Vulpix squirmed to get her paws under her and popped her head out with a gasp. She looked down to see the rescuer's eyes rolled back in his skull to look at her.

"Comfortable?" He asked.

Vulpix realized that it was in fact _very_ comfortable. His fur was warm and soft and breathed enough to not be stuffy. Despite the dangers of the dungeon she found herself feeling a little better.

She nodded her head- the only thing not enfolded in his fur- and maneuvered herself into a sitting position.

"Good." He said. He reached up and gently pushed her head under his fur. "Stay there unless I tell you otherwise."

Vulpix felt him begin moving and felt herself flick from left to right as he checked the corridors.

"If anything happens," the pokemon said as he went back the way they came, probably avoiding the pokemon that chased them through the tunnels. "You need to be very, very quiet. I can hide us both from the eyes of Pokemon, but not their ears."

"Okay." Vulpix replied. She thought back to when the Pokemon had gone right by them without seeing them. Did her rescuer have some kind of vanishing move?

Vulpix blinked in surprise. Had her rescuer told her his name? She couldn't remember. Vulpix wiggled her head forward so her mouth was close to her rescuer's ear.

"What was your name?" She whispered to him.

"Oh, sorry." The pokemon replied, "Call me Zoroark. Platinum class rescuer of Rescue Team Spectre. What's your name?"

"Vulpix." She replied. "I'm a parcel courier from Poketown South. It's good to meet you, and thank you so much for your help."

"It's good to meet you too." Zoroark replied. "And it's my pleasure. We'll have you home safe in no time."

* * *

**There you have it! I'm in the market for a beta who has at least a full high school English education. I will post a note on this fic when I start the full version but if you want the alert then you have to set an author alert.**

**If you spot anything that reads poorly or any grammar errors just copy it into the comments and it will probably be revised for the full release. Comments welcome! Especially suggestions. This is my first published multi-chapter work so... yeah. Subject to error.**


End file.
